" Hello Mike,
I am an Alchemy TV G5 user (reported to you last year) and have been for a while, but having just added a MacMini to my collection needed a device with hardware encoding on board if I was to work and watch/record at the same time. The new device from Miglia seemed ideal so I ordered one about 3 weeks ago. I received my Evolution TV DVR receiver today shipped direct from Singapore (although I don't know why).
I opened the box and am stunned by what they have done with the Aluminium case, its an elegant design, subtle branding, a la G5 but without being an overt copy, nice. There is an IR window on the front although no remote is mentioned anywhere I can find, maybe its an upgrade option, I have emailed Miglia to ask.

I installed the software from the supplied CD, plugged in the hardware and launched the neat pink TV icon from the dock. The setup assistant ran away and tuned in all my channels, I named them all (works just like the menu in Alchemy software) and that's it away I go. Works like a dream, I just recorded an hour of DivX encoded TV footage from my Satellite box, and 30 mins or so from normal TV as Mpeg4 both set to 75% quality, they are great even at full screen on my 17" samsung display and only 316Mb and 156Mb respectively, what a great product, I can now truly get 5 or 6 Movies per DVD. I also tested some basic functions (not exhaustively) and you can resize the window, change the recordable format, schedule recordings (I have over 10 hours setup for the next week, lets see how it copes with that) in fact everything I need as a cool DVR product.

I have two beefs, the first is the power supply, it's a huge thing that weighs a lot, would be way cool to run self powered. The second is the on screen remote, its just like the one from Alchemy, same brushed metal finish, but not a patch on what they should have done with such a funky new product that looks this great.

I will continue to run tests, but the first 12 hours have been just fine, my MacMini has found a mate, now I hope the HarmonyExpress I ordered for Audio in and 5.1 out works as well (couldn't find any reader reports on this), now my AV setup is starting to look real good with the Mini...
-WRG. "

"I have an Alchemy TV DVR PCI (formerly TeleVideo) card in my G4 MDD, and until now, I have been somewhat disappointed at the options for reliable recording with it. When I want to capture analog, in the past I have had to use the Motion-JPEG codec to get high quality and a good framerate. Attempting to record at 100%, its been impossible to achieve close to 29.97 fps (NTSC framerate) recording using MJPEG. At about 75%, fps capture is usually over 29 fps, which is sufficient for getting good quality and totally smooth playback. The only problem with this is that it can lead to really big file sizes depending on the amount recorded, as data rates are similar to DV.

I recently got iLife 2005 and installed iMovie HD to see how its HDV workflow compares to my current method of converting HDV to BlackMagic Uncompressed (another story...). As has been documented pretty well thus far, in order for iMovie HD to work with HDV, it needs to convert it to a new codec that is installed with iMovie HD called Apple Intermediate Codec. While this codec stinks IMHO for converting HDV (it produces way too many banding artifacts upon conversion, and if there are artifacts in the conversion for editing, then those artifacts will surely be there when the final conversion back to HDV occurs), I did like what Apple was attempting to do with it by keeping data rates low and saving disk space while still having good quality. So, I got to thinking, how might this codec operate for recording analog SD with the Alchemy TV? In fact, it works good, very good indeed. I recorded an over hour long program last night and it came out perfect. It recorded at the NTSC framerate and used only a 1.9MB/sec data rate, or about half the rate of DV. Quality was excellent, as good as it could be expected, and there wasnÌt the annoying audio out-of-sync issue that you get most of the times when recording with the AlchemyTV card. This might also be an option for any EyeTV users who wish to convert their MPEG-2 SD recorded streams to a better editing codec, instead of DV.

Previously, I reported that I was still unable to get TitanTV and EyeTV integration working correctly. In fact, I found the issue and the solution is simple. Because you originally needed to use the ATSC listings in Titan TV (called "DIGITAL"), I continued to use those listings when I switched to using the QAM tuner functionality. In fact, and Elgato really needs to make this more clear, you need to use the listings in Titan TV called "DIGITAL CABLE". Switching to this tab, and selecting to schedule programs from Titan TV will automatically make them compatible with your EyeTV 500 if the channel name in oyur EyeTV preferences is the EXACT same as the listing on TitanTV. However, the only issue with this is that you canÌt add channels from the DIGITAL CABLE lineup to your FAVORITES tab and use the FAVORITES tab to schedule programs. For whatever reason, it doesnÌt work. So, you either have to scroll through potentially hundreds of channels in the DIGITAL CABLE listing to get to where the HD channels are located, or you need to delete all the channels you canÌt receive with the EyeTV 500 in the list.

Also, some issues that were introduced with the EyeTV software with versions 1.7 and 1.7.1, will be fixed with 1.7.2. I started having issues with stability with 1.7 when editing recordings and scrubbing through a stream too quickly. These issues continued with 1.7.1, but a recent beta I have tested has proven to be much better. Back to 1.6.7 stability thus far. And, the issue with the MPEG-4 component that is installed with 1.7 and 1.7.1, that caused a conflict with movies using a fully compliant MPEG-4 Part 2 Simple Profile (most Divx, Xvid, and 3ivx encoded movie issues were resolved by 1.7.1), has been resolved for 1.7.2. ElGato is definitely on the right track with their updates and fixes, hopefully the official 1.7.2 release will be the dream version I have been waiting for.
-CS"

" Mike, This morning my dual 2.5 G5/x800 combo experienced a wake from sleep corruption problem on my 15" gateway CRT. You heard that right, CRT. It is hooked in to the DVI side with Apple's VGA adapter. I could see the mouse, and move it around, but I couldnt allign it with anything to click and couldnt tell if menus were moving at all. wavy squiggly scan lines all over. And the mouse has a square pixel ghost following it.
With much experimenting and sleep/wake cycles, I was able to solve it this way: put computer to sleep using power button on front of G5. Then unplug monitor. Then wake G5 without monitor connected at all. Then connect monitor. (nothing happens, and no monitor is recognized...yet. Then put computer to sleep again. Upon your next wake, if you are like me, you'll see a normal screen again.

Might be a big relief to people with unsaved documents they don't want to lose by doing a forced reboot
I sent a less detailed email to bruce (Bruno? (ATI)-Mike) too.
Dave C. "

CDRW Drives:
• IDE Liteon LTR 52327S (52x32x52x) in B&W G3 (OS 9.1)
  (FAQ's CDRom/CDR section has burn support file. Native burn support in 10.2.8 and later. Illustrated CD drive install guide here covers G4 towers up to the Digital Audio Model, Beige G3 MT and B&W G3 Macs)
  
  Combo DVD-CDR Drives:
• Exp. Bay Toshiba SD-R2212 in (Pismo) Powerbook G3 2000 (OS X 10.3)
  (said not bootable from CD. Systems page, Powerbook section has articles from 2001 on expansion bay combo drive installs/swaps.)
• Exp. Bay Toshiba SD-R2212 in (Pismo) Powerbook G3 2000 (OS X 10.3)
  (noted native iApps burn support.)
  
  DVD+R/RW + DVD-R/RW Drives:
• IDE BENQ DW1620 in G5 Tower (OS X 10.3)
  (Listed under "Other" brands. Using Patchburn 3 for iApps burn support. )
• IDE LG GWA-4082B in (yikes) G4 no AGP (OS X 10.3)
  (said not bootable from CD)
• IDE NEC ND-3520A in (MDD) Dual G4 DDR (OS X 10.3)
  (Using Patchburn 3 for iApps burn support. )
• IDE Pioneer DVR-109 in iMac G4 (OS X 10.3)
  (Using Patchburn 3 for iApps burn support. iMac G4 15in take-apart article here)
• IDE Pioneer DVR-109 in G5 Tower (OS X 10.3)
  (Using Patchburn 3 for iApps burn support.)
• IDE Pioneer DVR-107 in G5 Tower (OS X 10.3)
  (Native burn support)
• IDE Plextor PX-716A in B&W G3 (OS X)
  (Using Patchburn 1.1 for 10.2.x iApps burn support. Illustrated CD drive install guide here covers G4 towers up to the Digital Audio Model, Beige G3 MT and B&W G3 Macs)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IDE (SerialATA PCI card) Hitachi 7K250 250GB (x3) in G5 Tower (OS X 10.3)
• IDE Hitachi 80GB in iBook 2001 (OS X 10.3)
• IDE Hitachi E7K60 40GB in Powerbook G3 wallstreet1 (OS 9.2)
  (PB G3 1998/wallstreet illustrated HD install guide here)
• IDE Maxtor DiamondMAX Plus10 200GB in iMac G4 (OS X 10.3)
  (iMac G4 15in take-apart article here)
• IDE Seagate ST94811A 40GB in Powerbook G3 wallstreet2 (OS 9.2)
  (PB G3 1998/wallstreet illustrated HD install guide here)

You can find full owner reports (latest shown first) by searching the database by drive/brand/interface/mac models (the latest reports are shown first in searches). For guides to installing CD/CDRW/DVD drives or Hard drives in many mac models, see the IDE Articles page. The Firewire articles page also has guides on case kits, installing drives, etc.
If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database. (If you post an updated entry - make sure you use the same name, etc. as you did before so I can find your past entry. Thanks.)
(Incomplete entries are deleted. Do not post questions in the database, it's for drive reports not questions on what drive to buy - for that try searching the database for reports from owners of your mac model on the drive type/brand/interface, etc. you're interested in.)

• Apple Dual G4/800 in (Quicksilver) G4/AGP (rated 10)
• Apple G3/350 (at 416MHz) in Beige G3 (rated 10)
• Fastmac G4/450 (at 533MHz) in Beige G3 (rated 10)
  (listed under "Other Brand")
• Fastmac G4/450 (at 500MHz) in Beige G3 (rated 10)
  (listed under "Other Brand")
• XLR8 CarrierZIF MPew/G4/450 ZIF in 9500 (rated 9)
  
  (Full reviews of G4 and G3 upgrades compared to stock CPUs, including real world apps/game tests, install info, etc. are linked at the CPU upgrades page. OC/CPU module articles are on the Systems page.)

(Warning - Overclocking may not be reliable and could lead to hardware failure or corrupted data.) You can find the full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand).